DAN THORNER

Dan is a full-time teacher and coach who loves working with kids and consistently creates an environment that fosters hard work, resilience, teamwork, and joy.
 
Dan was born and raised in Washington, DC attended Janney Elementary Schoo in Tenleytown and then GDS for middle schoo and high school   At GDS Dan played baseball and captained the Soccer and Wrestling teams before attending the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. 
 
While in high school, Dan began his coaching career at Home Run Baseball Camp in DC’s AU Park neighborhood.  Beginning as a junior counselor, Dan coached at HRBC for over 20 years, eventually becoming the camp’s assistant director.
 
After graduating from Penn with a degree in Psychology and History, Dan moved to the town of Consuelo in the Dominican Republic where along with RJ Johnsen, Head Baseball Coach at St Albans, they ran Beisbol y Libros, a non-profit after school reading and baseball program.  The experience of working with 400 kids, managing a staff of 15-20, and living in an environment so foreign to the one he grew up in continues to have a profound effect.  Dan learned to speak Spanish while he lived in Consuelo and developed a more comprehensive understanding of the joy, enthusiasm, determination, and good fortune required to make it from the Dominican to the Big Leagues.
 
When Dan returned to the United States, he married his long-time girlfriend (who he met while coaching baseball) and began his teaching career at Beauvoir: The National Cathedral Elementary School.  Working on the Cathedral Close gave Dan a chance to further his coaching career as an assistant on the St Albans baseball staff.
After 15 years of teaching Second Grade at Beauvoir, Dan has shifted roles and for the last 4 years has been the PK and Kindergarten STEAM Teacher. 
 
Dan and his wife, Dr. Dara Thorner, now live in Bethesda with their 3 children: Jake, Ben, and Abby and their dog Lefty.  He spends his free time with his wife and kids and rooting for his beloved Philadelphia Phillies, Eagles, Flyers, and Sixers.